nondescriptn.adj.
/ˈnɒndᵻskrɪpt/, U.S. /ˌnɑndəˈskrɪpt/, /ˌnɑndiˈskrɪpt/ A. n.
1. Chiefly Biology. A species, genus, etc., that has not been previously described or identified. Also in extended use. Now rare in technical use.
ΘΚΠ
the world > life > biology > taxonomy > [noun] > identification or classification > species, etc., that has not yet been described
nondescript1669
1669 J. Ray Let. 15 Nov. in J. Ray et al. Philos. Lett. (1718) 50 Your Thlaspi Fruticosum..is, for ought I know, a non descript.
1693 Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) 17 730 Some curious Plants.., amongst which are few Non-descripts, or such as have not been taken notice of by other Writers.
1749 Philos. Trans. 1748 (Royal Soc.) 45 321 It is thought to be a Non-descript, both in its natural and fossil State.
1784 Philos. Trans. 1783 (Royal Soc.) 73 279 This curve, to borrow a term from natural history, is a non-descript as far as I can find at present.
1794 R. Kirwan Elements Mineral. (ed. 2) I. 107 He gives a much fuller account of this stone, which he considers as a non-descript.
1817 J. Bradbury Trav. Amer. 81 A few scattered shrubs of a species of Artemisia, apparently a nondescript.
1845 J. S. Mill Let. 12 Nov. in Wks. (1963) XIII. 685 There may be among plants picked up indiscriminately in a new country, as many and as interesting nondescripts as..in Graham's Mexican collection.
1892 Science 9 Dec. 325/1 Professor Baird enunciated this idea in 1858, claiming for convenience all these nondescripts under the distinctive name of Co'aptes hybridus.
1922 Sci. Monthly Jan. 78 It consists entirely of nondescripts, many of which I received from the Coast of Africa.
1961 Q. Rev. Biol. 36 295 On the whole, the classification is better than Dogiel's lumping of all the nondescripts under Vermes.
1994 P. O'Brian Commodore (1996) ix. 223 If it prove a nondescript, as I trust it will, I shall name it after the ship.
2.
a. An undistinguished or insignificant person or thing; a person who lacks character.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > importance > unimportance > [noun] > one who is unimportant > of no note or ordinary
nothinga1616
nondescript1776
obscurity1822
unnotable1860
1776 H. Thrale Thraliana (1942) I. 14 People sometimes talk of a dry thing; I never knew quite what it meant, and believe it is rather a Nondescript in Wit.
1828 J. H. Hackett Jonathan in Eng. ii. i You confounded, guessing, inquisitive nondescript.
1852 G. Daniel Democritus in London 270 How his nondescripts grin.
1909 L. M. Montgomery Anne of Avonlea viii. 83 Could that be Dora..that sobbing nondescript in a drenched, dripping dress and hair from which the water was streaming?
1992 S. Gandolfi Alistair MacLean's Golden Girl (BNC) 62 The nondescripts were observers straight out of the nine-to-five banking bureaucracy: groomed to perfection.
b. A person or thing that is not easily described, or is of no particular class or kind.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > kind or sort > generality > [noun] > state of being non-specific > unspecified thing(s) > and indescribable
what-not1602
watnawhat1725
nondescript1802
indescribability1824
indescribables1839
1802 Sporting Mag. 20 41 The number of coaches..vis-à-vis..and nondescripts.
1806 M. L. Weems Life G. Washington (ed. 5) i. 4 A perfect non-descript of baseness.
1811 R. Southey in Edinb. Ann. Reg. 1809 2 i. 289 The House contains about 250 country gentlemen, 120 courtiers [etc.]. The rest are non-descripts.
1836 C. Dickens Sketches by Boz 1st Ser. II. 238 A few ostlers and stable nondescripts were standing round.
1913 D. Barnes in Brooklyn Daily Eagle 3 Aug. 8/1 The back seats will be filled by strange nondescripts, who hover about like vultures to be in at the end.
1944 Sun (Baltimore) 20 May 12/4 On the extreme low qualities, green leaf and tips, wide variation occurred in prices, with the average range from $26 to $36 per 100 pounds. Green nondescript sold as low as $10.
1993 Herald (Glasgow) (Nexis) 6 Feb. 9 The mechanics are Methodists but..are wild nondescripts in their theology.
B. adj.
1. Chiefly Biology. Of a species, genus, etc.: not previously described or identified. Also in extended use. Now rare in technical use.
ΘΚΠ
the world > life > biology > taxonomy > [adjective] > not yet described (of species, etc.)
nondescript1670
undescribedc1680
unfigured1822
1670 J. Ray Let. 17 July in J. Ray et al. Philos. Lett. (1718) 68 Several rare, and some non-descript, Plants.
1712 Philos. Trans. 1710–12 (Royal Soc.) 27 36 A List of the Non-Descript Plants, viz. such as Dr. Boerhave has given as New, or without any Author to them.
1772 Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) 62 386 This fine non-descript owl lives upon hares.
1793 T. Jefferson Let. 8 Sept. in Papers (1997) XXVII. 62 They agree it is a non-descript disease, and no two agree in any one part of their process of cure.
1820 R. Southey Life Wesley II. 260 Sectarians of every kind, descript and non-descript, had been introduced in Cromwell's time.
1853 Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) 143 291 Drawings of rare and nondescript fossil remains.
1883 Science 21 Sept. 410/2 Besides the characters of eight species, previously nondescript, the notes also contain much critical information concerning the synonymy of many of the species.
1915 Amer. Midland Naturalist 4 63 Linnaeus..intimated that in selecting the name therefore he selected also the type of the group from which he took the name for his nondescript genus.
1959 Q. Rev. Biol. 34 77/2 A steady stream of material has been flowing into the museums of the United States, bringing nondescript species and varieties for which new names are needed.
1998 P. O'Brian Hundred Days xii. 187 I like to know about him, rather than a curious and possibly nondescript nuthatch.
2.
a. Not easily classified; that is neither one thing nor another; hybrid.
ΚΠ
1785 T. Holcroft Choleric Fathers ii. vi. 44 A Lawyer a nondescript monster we deem.
1823 Ld. Byron Don Juan: Canto VII ii. 66 A non-descript and ever varying rhyme.
1876 C. M. Davies Unorthodox London (rev. ed.) 77 Those nondescript animals that are neither boys nor young men.
1917 W. Owen Let. 14 Feb. (1967) 435 Do you need a Brooch? I saw an Egyptian one, rather huge,..and an Assyrian... All the others in this town are either Romish, or nondescript.
1992 Farm Jrnl. Feb. l4 A honey-colored puppy of nondescript lineage came tumbling out.
b. Lacking distinctive or interesting features; not easily described; dull, drab.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > kind or sort > generality > [adjective] > not specific > not rendered specific > not characterized or nondescript
unqualified1603
equivocal1658
uncharacterized1701
neutral1755
nondescript1806
anonymous1937
1806 J. Beresford Miseries Human Life (ed. 3) ix. i. 185 The dry rank remains of some non-descript cheese.
1851 H. Mayhew London Labour II. 51/1 A cottage of wood, nondescript in shape, but pleasant in locality.
1860 J. R. Edkins Let. 18 Sept. in Chinese Scenes (1863) 153 Drinking tea with about forty nondescript Chinamen... I shall try to give you a little picture of the tea-shop.
1898 Daily News 25 Aug. 5/2 A sea of white tents, brown blanket shelters, and nondescript grass hutments.
1936 N. Coward Tonight at 8:30 38 She wears a nondescript coat-frock.
1981 D. Francis Twice Shy I. iv. 41 Two nondescript tables occupied most of the floor-space.
2001 N.Y. Times 2 May b2/1 Dinner arrives courtesy of the ubiquitous white cardboard Chinese takeout box, a nondescript bottle of white wine, and plenty of Diet Coke.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2003; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.adj.1669